Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 778 To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct coastal community vulnerability assessments related to ocean acidification, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 13, 2019 Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. PETERS, and Ms. COL- LINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to conduct coastal community vulner- ability assessments related to ocean acidification, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal Communities 4 Ocean Acidification Act of 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 778 IS SEC. 2. COASTAL COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESS- 1 MENT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 12406 of the Federal 3 Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 4 (33 U.S.C. 3705) is amended— 5 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub- 6 section (d); and 7 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(b) COMMUNITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, through the 11 program established under subsection (a), shall con- 12 duct an ocean acidification coastal community vul- 13 nerability assessment, and issue a corresponding 14 public report, which shall be updated at least once 15 every 7 years. 16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessment con- 17 ducted under paragraph (1) shall— 18 ‘‘(A) identify the United States coastal 19 communities, including island communities, low- 20 population rural communities, and subsistence 21 communities, that are most dependent on coast- 22 al and ocean resources that may be impacted by 23 ocean acidification; 24 ‘‘(B) assess the nature of the social and 25 economic vulnerabilities of those communities; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 778 IS ‘‘(C) identify the ocean acidification im- 1 pacts that might harm those communities, in- 2 cluding impacts from changes in ocean and 3 coastal marine resources that are not managed 4 by the Federal Government; 5 ‘‘(D) identify key knowledge gaps where 6 research could be devoted to better understand 7 the possible impacts of ocean acidification on 8 those communities, the risks and threats facing 9 those communities, and possible adaptation 10 strategies for those communities; and 11 ‘‘(E) be conducted in collaboration with ex- 12 perts, indigenous knowledge groups, and stake- 13 holders who are familiar with the unique eco- 14 nomic, social, ecological, geographic, and re- 15 source concerns of coastal communities in the 16 United States, including representatives of— 17 ‘‘(i) the National Marine Fisheries 18 Service and the Office for Coastal Manage- 19 ment of the National Oceanic and Atmos- 20 pheric Administration; 21 ‘‘(ii) National Integrated Coastal and 22 Ocean Observation System regional infor- 23 mation coordination entities established 24 under section 12304(c)(4) of the Inte- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 778 IS grated Coastal and Ocean Observation 1 System Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 2 3603(c)(4)); 3 ‘‘(iii) regional ocean acidification net- 4 works; and 5 ‘‘(iv) State sea grant programs (as de- 6 fined in section 203 of the National Sea 7 Grant College Program Act (33 U.S.C. 8 1122)). 9 ‘‘(c) SUPPORT FOR STATE AND LOCAL VULNER- 10 ABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND STRATEGIC RESEARCH 11 PLANNING.—In carrying out the program established 12 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall collaborate with 13 State, local, and tribal government entities that are con- 14 ducting or have completed vulnerability assessments, stra- 15 tegic research planning, or other similar activities related 16 to ocean acidification and its impacts on coastal commu- 17 nities, for the purpose of— 18 ‘‘(1) determining whether such activities can be 19 used as a model for other communities; and 20 ‘‘(2) identifying opportunities for the National 21 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other 22 relevant Federal agencies to support such activi- 23 ties.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 778 IS (b) ONGOING INPUT MECHANISM.—Section 1 12404(b)(5) of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research 2 And Monitoring Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3703(b)(5)) is 3 amended— 4 (1) by striking ‘‘including information’’ and in- 5 serting the following: ‘‘including— 6 ‘‘(A) information’’; 7 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert- 8 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(B) an ongoing mechanism that allows af- 11 fected industry members, coastal stakeholders, 12 non-Federal resource managers, community 13 acidification networks, indigenous knowledge 14 groups, and scientific experts not employed by 15 the Federal Government to provide input on re- 16 search, data, and monitoring that is necessary 17 to support on-the-ground management, deci- 18 sionmaking, and adaptation related to ocean 19 acidification and its impacts.’’. 20 (c) STRATEGIC RESEARCH PLAN.—Section 12405 of 21 the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring 22 Act of 2009 (33 U.S.C. 3704) is amended— 23 (1) in subsection (b)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 778 IS (A) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ 1 after the semicolon; 2 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe- 3 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(10) make recommendations for research that 6 should be conducted, including in the social sciences 7 and economics, to address the key knowledge gaps 8 identified in the community vulnerability assessment 9 report conducted under section 12406(b).’’; and 10 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘, tribal gov- 11 ernments, indigenous knowledge groups,’’ after ‘‘in- 12 dustry’’. 13 (d) REPORT ON SUPPORT FOR STATE AND LOCAL 14 VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS AND STRATEGIC RE- 15 SEARCH PLANNING.—Not later than 180 days after the 16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of 17 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 18 shall submit to Congress a report on the efforts of the 19 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to sup- 20 port State, local, and tribal community vulnerability as- 21 sessments, strategic research and planning, and moni- 22 toring needs, pursuant to section 12406(c) of the Federal 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 778 IS Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act of 2009 1 (as added by subsection (a) of this section). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S778.IS S778 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS